Science fiction has long been one of the biggest genres in the geek community. From the pulp novels of yesteryear to TV shows like Star Trek and Battlestar Galactica to Star Wars, sci-fi is a huge buffet with a multitude of dishes for everyone to enjoy.
Comics and sci-fi have been linked for years. Many of the best comics have used sci-fi elements to make their superhero adventures pop, or were wholly science fiction stories. Over the years, Marvel, DC, and Image Comics have put out some amazing sci-fi comics — sometimes with superheroes and sometimes without — that every fan of the genre should check out.
Updated on January 7th, 2023 by David Harth: Sci-fi is a huge part of comics. Even before there were superhero comics, there were sci-fi ones. In the modern age of comics, sci-fi is a huge part of the comic industry. While it doesn't always get the plaudits that horror and superhero books do, there are brilliant sci-fi stories out there that every fan should seek out.
15 Nocterra Takes Readers To A World Without A Sun
Indie comics contain all kinds of amazing stories, with a favorite of many being Nocterra. Written by Scott Snyder with art by Tony S. Daniel, the story follows Val, her brother Emory, and a girl named Bailey. Years ago, the Big P.M. hit and night fell forever. The darkness twisted the world, making monsters of anything that spends too much time in the endless night.
The three of them, along with their allies, find themselves on a quest to discover what caused the Big P.M. and how to end it. Snyder and Daniel give readers some great apocalyptic sci-fi, mix in a helping of horror, and bake them together. Nocterra is summer movie sci-fi and a lot of fun.
14 StarHenge Combines Fantasy And Sci-Fi
2022 has given readers must-read comics, with StarHenge Book One: The Dragon And The Boar, by writer/artist Liam Sharp, impressing readers. The book starts in the far future, when humanity is at war with the Cast, a race of mechanical lifeforms. The Queen sends a man back in time to ensure the power of magic isn't destroyed, since it's the only thing that can stop the Cast.
The story then weaves between the past and present, as the man from the future becomes Merlin and a British girl in the present learns something unexpected about her boyfriend. StarHenge is full of brilliant art and the writing is just as good, taking Arthurian legend in completely new directions.
13 Ghost Cage Is Madcap American Manga Style Sci-Fi
Manga is huge right now, prompting writer Chad Goellner and co-writer/artist Nick Dragotta to create Ghost Cage. The three issue story takes place in Ohm Tower, the base of a corporation created by Mr. Karloff. Karloff fakes a terrorist attack as the first phases of a new plan, one which involves a creature called Sam and Doyle, a member of Ohm's tech support team.
Sam and Doyle scale Ohm Tower, facing down strange threats, as Karloff's mysterious plan takes effect. The book feels like an amazing manga story from the '90s. The writing is simple and effective and Dragotta's pencils are beautiful. The black and white art cements the manga feel, and Ghost Cage needs to be seen to be believed.
12 Aquaman: Andromeda Is A Grand Mixture Of Sci-Fi And Horror
DC put out brilliant comics in 2022, with Aquaman: Andromeda, by writer Ram V and artist Christian Ward, surprising everyone. The book follows the crew of the experimental submarine Andromeda as they search the ocean floor for an object that fell from space.
As something begins to mess with their minds, Aquaman and Black Manta are drawn in as well, trying to find out what the object is. Sci-Fi and horror overlap in many ways, with cosmic horror being the perfect mixture of the two. Aquaman: Andromeda is peak cosmic horror. The writing is amazing, and the art is completely spectacular.
11 Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War Is A Classic
The mid-'00s gave readers a Green Lantern renaissance and a big reason for that is Green Lantern: The Sinestro Corps War, by writers Geoff Johns, Peter J. Tomasi, and Dave Gibbons and artists Ivan Reis, Ethan Van Sciver, and Patrick Gleason. The book introduced the Sinestro Corps, a Lantern Corps created and led by Sinestro, as they set out to destroy the Green Lantern Corps.
The Sinestro Corps War is a Star Wars-esque summer movie set in the DC Universe. It's an exciting sci-fi epic starring the best Green Lanterns and introducing readers to the villains of the Sinestro Corps. Even all these years later, it's still an amazing read.
10 Stan Lee And Jack Kirby's Fantastic Four Is Classic Superhero Sci-Fi
The Fantastic Four have always been Marvel's first family of sci-fi heroes and that began way back at their debut. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's original run on Fantastic Four — a hundred and two regular issues and six annuals — is peak Silver Age superhero sci-fi, with Kirby's massive ideas and amazing art combining with Lee's scripting in beautiful ways.
Superheroes and sci-fi had been a great taste that went great together even before this book dropped, but Lee and Kirby redefined it. Despite the animosity that Lee's treatment of Kirby would later engender between the two, their work together on Fantastic Four changed comics forever.
9 Powers Of X Let Hickman Play With The Sci-Fi Aspects Of His X-Men Reboot
Jonathan Hickman's X-Men reboot began with two books: House Of X and Powers Of X. HoX was the more superhero title, setting up the broad stroke of the reboot. PoX, written by Hickman with art by R.B. Silva, often felt more supplemental but laid down the sci-fi foundations of what Hickman was building in HoX.
Taking place over four time periods, Power of X did a lot of heavy lifting. Fans got to see the dystopian post-human futures, the foundation for much of Krakoa's tech, and a deep-dive exploration of the Phalanx. Hickman is a master of sci-fi comics, and PoX saw him flexing those muscles, backed up by Silva's deft pencils.
8 Nameless Is Cosmic Horror At Its Finest
Cosmic horror is a venerable branch of sci-fi, playing up humanity's fears of the unknown in the face of an unforgiving cosmos. Writer Grant Morrison and artist Chris Burnham's Nameless plays in that sci-fi sandbox brilliantly. As a massive object from space is on a collision course for Earth, a coterie of billionaires pays occult conman Nameless to help, but nothing is as it seems.
Morrison loves to add the occult to their stories in all kinds of ways, and Nameless incorporates it wonderfully into its cosmic horror narrative. Burnham's art is detailed and grotesque when it needs to be, bringing this mind-bending cosmic horror epic to life.
7 Jim Starlin's Adam Warlock Comics Are Trippy Sci-Fi Epics
Adam Warlock is about to break huge with his role in GotG Vol. 3, and fans will want to hunt down his best stories. They need look no farther than writer/artist Jim Starlin's many Adam Warlock comics. Mostly taking place in Strange Tales, these formative Adam Warlock adventures are psychedelic sci-fi masterpieces.
Starlin didn't create Warlock, but he made the character better, pitting him against Thanos and his alternate future self, the Magus — all questioning the nature of life and the cosmos. Starlin made cosmic Marvel a force to be reckoned with, and it all started with his Adam Warlock adventures.
6 Jack Kirby's Fourth World Is Pure Unadulterated Kirby Sci-Fi
Jack Kirby was a sci-fi concept engine, as illustrated by his time plotting most of Fantastic Four. When he went to DC, he created one of comics' most sweeping sci-fi epics: the Fourth World saga. Introducing readers to classic characters like Darkseid, Mister Miracle, Big Barda, Orion, and many more, Kirby created a sci-fi mythology that's never been matched.
Kirby's bombastic art and writing style is on complete display in the Fourth World saga. The pages crackle with a creative energy that's rarely found in other books, combining sci-fi with mythological grandeur and superhero action like nothing before or since.
5 Annihilation Brought The Cosmic Side Of The Marvel Universe Back To Prominence
Stan Lee and Jack Kirby laid the foundations of cosmic Marvel and Jim Starlin perfected it. After he left the publisher, cosmic Marvel mostly languished beyond X-Men and Fantastic Four comics. Starlin's Marvel return in the 90s brought it roaring back, but it didn't last long. Then, in the mid-2000s, Annihilation happened.
The brainchild of writers Keith Giffen, Dan Abnett, and Andy Lanning, Annihilation crossed through multiple miniseries starring cosmic Marvel heavy weights like Nova, Silver Surfer, Drax the Destroyer, and more. Pitting the heroes of the universe against the Annihilation Wave, it became one of Marvel's finest cosmic stories and began a short renaissance for those characters.
4 Descender/Ascender Was A Sci-Fi Epic That Focused On Family
Robots have been a huge part of comics and robot apocalypse stories were always popular. Descender and Ascender were a potent one-two sci-fi/fantasy punch from writer Jeff Lemire and artist Dustin Nguyen. The narratives take place in a galaxy ravaged by a mysterious event that saw the giant Harvester robots appear and slaughter millions before taking away all the robots.
One remained — Tim-21 — and Descender follows his search for the human family he was a part of. Digging into the origins of the conflict, it ended on a massive cliffhanger, one which Ascender picks up on — dropping readers years into the future and a galaxy very different from what came before. Family is a key theme of both stories, making Descender/Ascender an emotional sci-fi epic like few others.
3 Saga Is One Of The Crown Jewels Of Sci-Fi Comics
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Saga, by writer Brian K. Vaughan and artist Fiona Staples, is a masterpiece. Following the family of Marko, Alana, and Hazel as they try to survive both sides of a galactic war hunting down their mixed family, it's a true epic. As much about the character as about the war, Vaughan and Staples have created a memorable reading experience.
No one is safe in Saga, and the stories have surprise dreaders in numerous ways over the years. It's the perfect comic for sci-fi fans of all stripes and is a book that can get anyone into comics. Saga is full of action, adventure, cool sci-fi, beautiful art, and breathtaking emotion.
2 East Of West Is A Western/Sci-Fi Epic
Jonathan Hickman is one of comics' most beloved voices, leading fans wondering what he'll do next. There's a treasure trove of Hickman goodness from Image Comics and one of his biggest epics is the Western/sci-fi/alternate history/Biblical tour de force East Of West. Hickman and artist Nick Dragotta present a United States where the Civil War fractured the nation into six countries, brought together by an apocalyptic prophecy.
East Of West follows the Horseman of the Apocalypse Death as he tries to avenge his lost family and gets involved in the end of the prophecy. Meanwhile, the six nations and the other three Horsemen prepare for what's to come and jockey for power. It's complicated and brilliant all the way through.
1 The Green Lantern Is The Perfect Sci-Fi Superhero Epic
The Green Lantern corner of the DC Universe has always been a great place for superhero sci-fi. Hal Jordan stars in many epic stories, the best of those being The Green Lantern, by writer Grant Morrison and artist Liam Sharp. Following Hal Jordan through a massive twenty-four issue adventure, split by the two issue Blackstars by Morrison and artist Xermanico, it's superhero sci-fi perfection.
Morrison and Sharp make a perfect team for this book. Morrison's work always has a lot of sci-fi in its DNA, and they indulge that to the fullest. Sharp's art is never anything short of brilliant, changing styles throughout the book. The Green Lantern is a comic every fan of superheroes and sci-fi should read.